Stories are at the core of a child’s heart. From bedtime stories to interesting fiction, childhood is full of new and intriguing stories. Children’s familiarity with the stories makes it easier for them to understand the core of narrative writing- an important form of writing based on the art of storytelling.
Narrative writing is important from an academic point of view. It is an important part of the curriculum for improving literature-related skills. It is also important for self-development and building self-esteem. Narrative writing can also be improved by writing games and it has personal and academic benefits, making it important to learn and master.
To help students understand and learn narrative writing, we added a checklist later in the article to help students improve their skills. First, let’s see what narrative writing is and why it is important.
Let’s get started!
What is narrative writing and why is it important?
Narrative writing is a very popular form of writing that involves telling a story. It can be either nonfiction or fiction. Narrative writing involves retelling a story and is an expressive form of writing that allows children to be creative and expressive.
Narrative writing has five key components that make the story relevant and impactful. The component involves.
- The Plot: Plot is the event that occurs throughout the story and focuses on what and when aspects.
- The Characters: The story might involve the main characters and supporting characters. A narrative story can have any characters, such as humans, animals, aliens, plants, etc.
- The setting: The setting represents where and when the plot occurs. It might be some specific location, such as a playground, a museum, etc.
- The conflict: Conflict is any issue or situation the story focuses on and tries to resolve. The characters are often involved in the conflict and try to resolve it, leading to a conclusion or a climax.
- The Theme: The theme is the essence of the plot on which the story is based. The theme is central to the plot and makes the story intriguing for readers.
Narrative writing is a crucial part of a student’s curriculum. It has various benefits for children apart from academics which include-
- Narrative writing helps children in self-expression and finding their identity.
- Narrative writing is a useful technique to teach thought and organizational skills to children.
- It will help children understand their own and others’ feelings and thoughts.
- Narrative writing is also a fun critical thinking activity that is useful for developing coherent and logical thinking skills in children.
- Stimulating the imagination of children is another crucial benefit of narrative writing.
These are among some crucial benefits that make narrative writing important for young children.
Narrative writing checklist
Here is the narrative writing checklist that is beneficial for assessing and improving it accordingly.
1. Did you grab the reader’s attention from your introductory paragraph or the first line?
2. Have you portrayed the setting where the story is set?
3. Did you clearly describe when the story is set?
4. Does your story describe characters and their personalities represented in the plot?
5. Have you pointed out how one character relates to another in your plot?
6. Did you describe the setting in descriptive and detail-oriented language?
7. Does your story incorporate sensory appeal into your plot and description of the setting?
8. Have you described the timeline of your plot in natural order?
9. Did you use a storytelling voice in your story?
10. Have you written clear, small, and complete sentences to keep the reader interested in your story?
11. Did your plot portray the necessary emotional aspects to make the read intriguing?
12. Does your plot revolve around one theme(love, friendship, family, etc)?
13. Did your plot have some issue (such as a social issue) or a situation (such as a fight) involving your characters?
14. Does your story describe the character’s thoughts about the situation or issue?
15. Did you explain the character’s feelings about the situation or thoughts?
16. Have you used dialogue to make the plot more real and interesting?
17. Did you follow a logical and easy-to-follow sequence?
18. Have you used sentences of varied lengths, and each sentence has a unique beginning?
19. Did you use strong and bold phrases, words, or clauses in your story?
20. Have you used the required similes or metaphors in your plot?
21. Is the plot divided into relevant paragraphs?
22. Have you incorporated transition words for the smooth flow of the plot?
23. Does your plot have a clear introduction, middle, and end?
24. Did you maintain the reader’s attention throughout the story?
25. Did you make the reader think about what will come next in the story?
26. Did you make the proper use of punctuation to express your thoughts clearly?
27. Is your story grammatically correct?
28. Did you provide an interesting conclusion to your plot?
29. Have you resolved the issue your story focused on?
30. Is your conclusion related to your whole story?
Why is the narrative writing checklist beneficial?
A narrative writing checklist is useful for students and educators both. With the help of a narrative writing checklist, students can work on improving their literary skills and hone their writing skills.
Some other benefits of narrative writing checklists are-
1. Provides a roadmap to the writing
A narrative writing checklist works as a roadmap and guides students on where to go from one point and the best approach to do so. It works as a base on which students can build the foundation of their writing.
2. Self-monitoring and reflection
Another major benefit of formulating a checklist is that it helps students monitor their growth and skills and help them identify where improvement is required. Checklists further help students in reflecting on their skills and develop self-esteem.
3. Self-confidence
Narrative writing checklists help boost the self-confidence of the children. Checklists work as a parameter to improve and assess one’s literary skills and grow in the process, resulting in the development of self-confidence.
Concluding thoughts
Mastering the art of narrative writing requires practice and patience, and our checklist will help students cultivate both and learn the skills required for narrative writing. A narrative writing checklist is a comprehensive checklist that students can use to enhance their narrative writing skills or by parents and teachers to guide students and assess their performance in writing.
I am Sehjal Goel, a psychology student, and a writer. I am currently pursuing my Masters’s from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Child psychology has always fascinated me and I have a deep interest in learning about disabilities in children and spreading awareness regarding the same. My other areas of interest are neuropsychology and cognitive psychology. Connect me on Linkedin